He
was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed
the theory of relativity, one of the two pillars
of modern physics (alongside quantum mechanics). His work is also known for its influence on the philosophy of science. He is best known by
the general public for his mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc2 (which has been
dubbed "the world's most famous equation"). He received the
1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his
services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of
the photoelectric effect", a pivotal
step in the evolution of quantum theory.
Near
the beginning of his career, Einstein thought that Newtonian mechanics was no longer enough
to reconcile the laws of classical mechanics with the laws of
the electromagnetic field. This led him to develop
his special theory of
relativity
during his time at the Swiss Patent Office in Bern (1902–1909),
Switzerland. However, he realized that the principle of relativity could also
be extended to gravitational fields and—with his
subsequent theory of gravitation in 1916—he published a paper on general relativity. He continued to deal with
problems of statistical mechanics and quantum theory,
which led to his explanations of particle theory and the motion of molecules. He also investigated the thermal properties
of light which laid the foundation of the photon theory of light. In 1917, he applied the general theory of
relativity to model the large-scale structure of the universe.
Between
1895 and 1914, he lived in Switzerland (except for one year in Prague,
1911–12), where he received his academic diploma from the Swiss Federal Polytechnic in Zürich (later the
Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule, ETH) in 1900. He later taught at that
institute as a professor of theoretical physics between 1912 and 1914 before he
left for Berlin. In 1901, after being stateless for more than five years, he
acquired Swiss citizenship, which he kept for the
rest of his life. In 1905, he was awarded a PhD by the University of Zürich. The same year, his annus mirabilis (miracle
year), he published four groundbreaking
papers,
which were to bring him to the notice of the academic world, at the age of 26.
He
was visiting the United States when Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933 and—being Jewish—did not go back to
Germany, where he had been a professor at the Berlin Academy of
Sciences.
He settled in the United States, becoming an American citizen in 1940.
On
the eve of World War II, he endorsed a letter to President
Franklin D. Roosevelt alerting him to the potential development of "extremely
powerful bombs of a new type" and recommending that the U.S. begin similar
research. This eventually led to what would become the Manhattan Project. Einstein supported defending the Allied forces, but generally denounced
the idea of using the newly discovered nuclear fission as a weapon. Later, with the British philosopher Bertrand Russell, he signed the Russell–Einstein
Manifesto,
which highlighted the danger of nuclear weapons. He was affiliated with
the Institute for Advanced
Study in Princeton, New Jersey, until his death in 1955.
Einstein
published more than 300 scientific papers along with over 150
non-scientific works. His intellectual achievements and originality have
made the word "Einstein" synonymous with "genius". Eugene Wigner wrote of Einstein in comparison to his contemporaries that
"Einstein's understanding was deeper even than Jansci von Neumann's.
His mind was both more penetrating and more original than von Neumann's. And
that is a very remarkable statement."
Comments
Einstein was a rebel much like Leonardo da Vinci. He questioned
everything that needed to be questioned at the time and required proof of
concept through experimentation. He had the advantage of having the scientific
instruments required to ask the big questions.
Science advanced in a continuum from Leonardo da Vinci to Galileo to
Newton to Einstein. His work continues today in physics labs everywhere.
Norb
Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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